Spare parts or even the knowledge to repair are getting rare for Olympus FT lenses. The European Service Center tends to replace lenses rather than repairing them. When you send in your lens you may end up with a replacement rather than the repaired original lens or they return it without any repair at all. That’s against my view of reducing waste. I therefore started to design and print spare parts whenever I need some. If there’s a need for further spare parts, I may extend the portfolio.
Focus rings are printed in TPU. That’s a rubber-like material quite similar to the original focus rings. The material is currently available in gray.
TPU is printed in a selective laser sinter process or multi jet fusion printing. Printers for these processes are expensive and can’t be run in a household environment. I therefore have the focus rings printed at print service providers. Currently, Sculpteo is the best match for my projects.
Currently, all printing providers request a minimal amount in an order that exceeds e.g. focus or zoom rings. To keep costs in a reasonable range, I try to combine printing jobs to exceed the required minimum and to reduce costs.
FT 50mm f2.0 Macro
The focus ring of my FT 50mm f2.0 macro lens dissolved after years of intense use. The rubber crumbled and got all sticky. I removed it carefully with a spatula and wiped off the remaining stains with tissues and alcohol. The new ring is simply slid over the cleaned lens. A thin rim keeps the ring in place.
You may order the ring through the contact form. Please note, that orders are printed exclusively for you on demand.
FT 14–54mm f2.8–3.5 version I and II
I designed the rings on request for an owner of the lens. The rings can be mounted to the lens without disassembling the lens. The original rings tend to crumble and dissolve (focus ring) or swell and detach from the lens (zoom ring).
The only tools for mounting the rings are 4 to 6 zip-ties. You stick them around the lens between lens and ring to allow the rings to glide smoothly over the lens.
The rings shown in the picture above were printed at Shapeways in white TPU (as Selected Laser Sintering print). The material and technology used in Multijet Fusion results in medium gray rings like in the picture below. To cut down costs, both rings are printed as a single part with connecting sprues on the inside. The sprues have to be cut off with a sharp knife before mounting the rings. Sorry, you currently can’t order a focus ring or zoom ring separately.
You may order the rings through my contact form. Please note, that orders are printed exclusively for you on demand.
Olympus ZUIKO 100mm f2.8
I got a request to design a focus ring for this lens. The ring shows the typical diamonds pattern Olympus used in the 90-ties. I designed the ring based on exact measurements I got from the owner. Although I never touched teh lens, I managed to create a well fitting focus ring in the first round.
Rings for other Lenses
It’s quite easy to design rings for a specific lens (any brand) if I get the lens for a couple of days to take exact measurements. It is required to remove the existing rings for that task.
I have to order the first print myself to proof printability. After a successful print, parts can be uploaded to the webshop for direct orders. Since this isn’t very attractive, due to base costs, orders may be placed through my contact form.